City of Sacramento Hopes New Economic Development Plan Pans Out

The City of Sacramento’s has a new economic development plan that extends all the way to China.

The City of Sacramento’s Economic Development Department has a new plan to stimulate the economy.

The new plan starts with developing the urban core and extends all the way to the city’s new satellite office in China. Department Director Jim Rinehart says the office was opened because of a new emphasis on exporting goods and services outside the region.

“We’re beginning to reap the benefits to have Chinese currency come to Sacramento, importation of money and exportation of goods, investment here as well. So, we’re building on those relationships right now. And, I’m hopeful that a year from now, we’ll come back and show that we made a wise choice."

In between the urban core and China is the development of business that support the region’s strongest economic engines – green tech, agriculture, education and especially healthcare. Rinehart says every major hospital in the region has or is expanding:

“We’re taking advantage of that and building and multiplying on that with the nurses, the techs, the physicians, the others that come in to support that. Those clusters will be very beneficial to Sacramento.”

The proposed downtown arena is prominent in the plan. Michael Ault with the Sacramento Downtown Partnership says it will have a far-reaching effect.

“That is generating not only renewed interest I think in this region, but a renewed focus by the city to understand that they’ve got to be prepared and have the capacity to take advantage of these opportunities.”

The new plan includes more emphasis on infill projects and redesigned zoning codes. Rinehart says the city’s new plan will do more to help small businesses get started in Sacramento.

The department had previously reviewed its economic development plan every five years. Rinehart says if the department is to react promptly to the changing business climate, it must review its policies every year -if not more often.